How do you say until in Italian?
Finché
Use finché to say until in Italian. It can also be translated as as long as.
| Origin | From fino and che, “till” and “that” |
| Pronunciation | /finkeˈ/ |
Finché
Until, as long as
Until in Italian: Examples
Non puoi spegnere il riscaldamento finché il sistema è in funzione.
You can’t turn the heat off as long as the system is operating.
Non dimenticherò mai la tua gentilezza finché vivrò.
I will never forget your kindness as long as I live.
Ti piace la minestra? Puoi mangiarne finché vuoi!
Do you like soup? You can eat as much as you like!
Finché non
Finché non literally means “until not” and is an expression that translates to until in Italian. Don’t let that negative particle fool you: sentences using this expression are NOT negative.
Devi rimanere qui finché non torniamo.
You must stay here until we come back.
Tieni gli occhi chiusi finché non ti dico di aprirli.
Keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open them.
Imagine that there’s no negative non and translate the sentence into English. Until in Italian is used in the same way as until is used in English when it precedes a verb:
| Devi rimanere qui | finché non | torniamo. |
| You must stay here | until | we come back. |
| Tieni gli occhi chiusi | finché non | ti dico di aprirli. |
| Keep your eyes closed | until | I tell you to open them. |
Other examples:
Percorri questa strada finché non arrivi a un semaforo.
Go down this road until you come to a traffic light.
Non puoi mangiare il dessert finché non hai finito il tuo pasto.
You can’t have dessert until you finish your meal.
Aspettiamo qui finché Luca non torna.
Let’s wait here until Luca comes back.
Fino a
Fino a is used to translate until in Italian when it precedes anything other than a verb. For example, you can say…
Spero che il tempo regga fino a domenica.
I hope the weather holds up until Sunday.
In Canada non è permesso bere fino a 20 anni.
In Canada, you’re not allowed to drink until you are 20.
Non è tornato fino alle nove.
He did not come back until nine o’clock.
Ballarono fino a mezzanotte inoltrata.
They danced until after midnight.
Do you remember one of our previous examples?
Devi rimanere qui finché non torniamo.
You must stay here until we come back.
What if I told you that you can use a noun here, ritorno? Try to translate this sentence into Italian: “You must stay here until our comeback.“
Devi rimanere qui fino al nostro ritorno.
You have to stay here until we come back.
[our comeback]
Since ritorno is a noun, you have to use fino a here.
Finché or finché non?
Finché also introduces actions that are valid for a limited time, translating as “while”.
Bevi il tè finché è caldo.
Drink the tea while it’s hot.
Finché piove a dirotto, non possiamo uscire.
As long as it’s pouring rain, we can’t go out.
Devo fare il bucato finché c’è il sole.
I have to do the laundry while it’s still sunny.
Don’t confuse this with finché non. If you do, you run the risk of saying something you don’t really mean! Think about these sentences again:
Devo fare il bucato finché c’è il sole.
I have to do the laundry while it’s still sunny.
Now look at this sentence:
Devo fare il bucato finché non c’è il sole.
I have to do the laundry while it’s not sunny.
Make sure you choose the right translation!
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